Bike Rides And Long Drives
by Red Monster
Summary: Cousins Sean and Tom Cassidy have one thing in common: they love the same woman.
1. 1

Disclaimer and notes: All characters (that's right; all of them that you recognize and even then one or two more) were created by and are property of Marvel Comics. I use them without permission, and make no money from their use. This is part of the County Mayo series. If I've reduced what seems like the most exciting parts to exposition, it's because they've already been shown in canon in enough detail that I have nothing substantive to add. The canon material used in this story comes from the backstory in Classic X-Men #16. If you have that in your collection, you can see how much liberty I have taken. I apologize in advance to a) anyone who knows how INTERPOL works, and b) anyone with a major interest in history. I am truly, truly sorry to all of you. But the story must go on. 

*this* means thoughts and _this_ means emphasis. (#) means there is a footnote at the end of the chapter. 

Bike Rides And Long Drives  
By Red Monster 

Chapter 1 

"Hello?" 

"Hello, is Maeve there?" 

"Yes, hold on a moment." 

"This is Maeve." 

"Maeve!" he said just a little bit too enthusiastically into the receiver. *Stop that, Sean, don't make a bloody fool out of yourself already.* "Uh, hello, Maeve, this is Sean." 

"Well, it's lovely to hear from you, Sean. How are you?" 

So she remembered him. This was a happy revelation for Sean, who was sure his chances with Maeve were shot as soon as she met Tom. It wasn't that she'd ignored Sean; in fact, she'd kissed him when he brought her back to her dorm. It was just that he knew Tom, and he didn't expect old patterns to suddenly change. 

"Very well," he nodded vigorously, regardless of Maeve talking to him from her dorm room in Ulster, where she couldn't see him. "I was wondering if I could take you out somewhere this weekend. See, there's this..." he began, when he was cut off. 

"I would love that, Sean. When can I expect you?" she asked. 

*So she'll need a ride there. Of course, she wouldn't have gotten a new bike since a week ago.* "Well, let's see, it starts at 7:00, and we'll need time to get there, so how about I pick you up at 5:00? Saturday night." 

"I'll be waiting for you, then." 

"Wonderful!" 

There was a real ladies' man living in Cassidy Keep, and his name was definitely not Sean Cassidy. The older of the two cousins worked very hard in secondary school, and it paid off. He was admitted to Oxford, but once he got there, it became clear that his interest was not in academics. Instead, Tom spent a year there learning how to talk to women. This diversion of his efforts was reflected in his grades, but when the dean of admissions asked him not to come back after his first year, Tom wasn't really upset. He had what he needed from them; namely that he came back home knowing how to catch some tail whenever he wanted. 

Meanwhile, Sean was admitted to Trinity College, where he studied Criminal Science, and he actually studied, resulting in a BS degree four years later. His love life was not so impressive. It didn't much bother Sean that the girls he'd grown up with weren't interested in him, though. Sometimes he'd meet a girl in town, and she'd have a wonderful time with him at first, but as soon as she met Tom (and he couldn't keep them from meeting him, because they all insisted on seeing his home, and Tom would always show up there sooner than later), Sean was as good as never there in the first place. While it drove him crazy to see his cousin win over all those girls and then not even hold onto them for very long, he refused to hate Tom for it. Since his parents had died in a car crash when Sean was 16, Tom was the only family he had. Regardless of his disastrous showing at Oxford, Tom had encouraged Sean more than anyone else when he applied to and attended Trinity, and was now supporting him in his quest to join INTERPOL. 

Sean had met Maeve while hitchhiking home from a concert in Londonderry. He was stopped and questioned by a sergeant who was convinced Sean was working for the IRA, and was about to detain him for no good reason when Maeve rode by on her motorcycle and stopped to let Sean hop on. She then led Sergeant McLanahan and his partner, as well as the team of police cars that had been chasing her through the countryside, on a feverish ride through the province that ended when Maeve lost control of her bike after the sergeant put a bullet in her back tire, and they went off a cliff just past the border. Sean used his mutant scream to fly them over Donegal Bay and back to Cassidy Keep, where Maeve's first reaction was to slug Sean and give him an earful for getting her bike destroyed. She calmed down when Sean reminded her that he'd just saved her life. He invited her inside for a drink and a snack, where Tom found them, introduced himself to her and made Sean feel like a "country lump" at the same time. It was because of his cousin's charm towards their beautiful guest that Sean was both surprised and pleased when he flew Maeve back to her university dorm and she told him he'd "but to ask" to see her again, and they kissed. 

It was even better when he asked her out, and she didn't even ask where he wanted to take her before she accepted. 

Whistling, he skipped out of the main hall of Cassidy Keep that Saturday afternoon and paused only to give a surprised Mrs. Bridges a peck on the cheek as he left. 

"Where are you going in such high spirits?" Tom asked him, one eyebrow noticeably raised. 

"I'm taking Maeve to the movies!" he sang. 

"Good work, cousin," Tom said after Sean shut the heavy double doors behind him. "You managed to beat me to her." 

The ride up to Maeve's school was difficult once he crossed the border into Northern Ireland. Not because of the mountains, or especially twisted roads, or a lot of cars out that day; none of that was a problem. It was just that Sean wanted nothing more than to ride to Maeve's dormitory as fast as he possibly could without burning the tires off his motorcycle, but he couldn't afford to draw attention to himself on the road and have another meeting with Sergeant McLanahan. But even at that more relaxed pace, he almost missed the turn for the university. 

"Can I help you?" asked the girl at the desk when Sean entered the dormitory. 

"Yes, I'm here to pick up Maeve Rourke." 

"Room number?" 

"..." That was when he realized he'd never bothered to ask Maeve her room number. "I don't know." 

"That's okay, I'll look it up." She paged through a booklet of names and numbers. "Ah, here she is." The girl dialed a few digits on the telephone sitting on the desk. "Hello, Kate? Would you tell Maeve there's someone here to pick her up? Thank you." She hung up the phone, and looked up at Sean. "She'll be down in a second." 

So she was, looking gorgeous in some stonewashed bellbottoms and soft green blouse under a bulky cardigan, with her bike helmet in hand. "No run-ins with Ulster's Finest this time, I see," she observed with a smile. 

"No, I was a sneaky one this time." 

"Good," she said, putting her arms around his shoulders. "Now, where is it you're taking me tonight?" 

"It's near my home, in Westport. You look lovely, by the way." 

"So I'm dressed well enough for the occasion, then? Good thing, as I'd certainly hope you wouldn't ask me to go on a two-hour ride in a fancy dress." 

"Well, I may have brought the car, you know," he suggested. 

"Did you?" 

"No," he admitted sheepishly. "I came on my bike." 

"Then it's a good thing," she chuckled, "that you think I look lovely like this." 

He didn't mean to sound so gushing, so exaggerated, but the words just came tumbling out, in front of all the girls walking around them to get in and out of the building. "You'd look perfect in anything." 

"That's so sweet," she laughed. "Now why don't we get going, before someone knocks us over for standing here?" 

Sean had intended to drive them back to Westport, but Maeve knew the backroads of the province better, and she'd been itching to get back on a bike since hers ended up in Donegal Bay, so she did the driving. She took them down the scenic route through Ulster, then Sean directed her once they got into County Sligo. 

Their destination, which Sean noticed Maeve hadn't sought to ask him since he'd called her, was a theater that was showing several short films recently completed by local filmmakers. They came into the auditorium just as the lights were dimming, and found that they were lucky enough to get a couple of the last empty seats near the front. Maeve took Sean's hand in hers, and they waited for the films to begin. 

Some were impressive, but most were unintentionally amusing. They looked at each other and shared a laugh every time a film took itself too seriously. 

After the films were over, they agreed that it had been several hours since either of them had eaten, and therefore a bite to eat was in order. They ducked inside a pub down the street from the theater. 

"Have you always lived in Omagh?" Sean asked between bites. 

"No," said Maeve. "I'm from Belfast. I went to Omagh for a change in scenery." 

"Can't blame you for that," Sean replied, with a tone of voice and roll of the eyes that gave away his reference to "the troubles." 

"Sean, it's not that bad," she said, dead serious. "I just got tired of the big city atmosphere." 

"I'm sorry," he gulped, looking slightly downward and to the side. "I didn't realize." *Now you've really gone and done it, Cassidy.* 

"Honestly, sometimes it seems like the whole rest of the world thinks nothing goes on there except Black and Tans and bombings, but it's not so. There's more to the place than that." 

"I believe you," Sean said. "I meant no offense, truly." 

"Well," Maeve began, her expression softening noticeably. "You do have a point, either way. No offense taken." 

"Perhaps I could go up there with you sometime, and you could show me around," he suggested, eager to recover. 

"Perhaps we could do that," she nodded, smiling gently. "But what about you? Your home seemed awfully empty last I saw it; where's your family?" 

"I don't have much in the way of family, to tell the truth. Tom and I are both only children, and our parents died when we were young." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just the two of you now, then?" 

"Did you meet our housekeeper?" he asked. Maeve shook her head. "We've had Mrs. Bridges with us our whole lives, so it's really the three of us." 

"What about Tom?" she began. 

*Wonderful. This had to happen eventually. May as well just hand her over to my cousin right now, get it over with.* 

"How do you two get along when there's not a girl around?" she finished. 

*Oh, now that's different.* "He likes to rib me even then," Sean said. Maeve chuckled, and he went on. "We don't have much in common except that we both grew up in that castle and we both lost our parents in our teens." *Don't tell her about Tom's track record with the girls. She seems to think you're good, so far.* "But we're family, that much is for sure. I can trust him when it really comes down to it." 

"I'm glad to hear that. I've got two sisters and three brothers and enough aunts and uncles and cousins to fill up this whole town, and I can't trust half of them to tell me when the house is on fire. So you're lucky as far as that goes." 

Sean drove Maeve back to the university by a different route than they'd used to come down. She said it was better that he drive them back, because if McLanahan had spotted them on the way down and had anyone looking for them, they'd be looking to see her up front. 

"It's awfully late; are you sure you want to go back home tonight?" she asked when he stopped his bike in front of her dorm. 

"Where would you have me go at this hour if not home?" he smiled. 

"You can spend the night in my room rather than risk being seen by the coppers again, you know. My roommate won't mind," she said, getting off his bike. 

"I don't want to impose on you." He got off his bike, too, and took off his helmet, just to walk her to the door. 

"It wouldn't be an imposition," she assured him. 

*She really wants me to stay the night,* he thought. *But I'd better not. Letting her put me up on the first date wouldn't speak well of me.* "If Tom and Mrs. Bridges wake up tomorrow and I'm not there, they'll be worried." 

"I suppose there is that. In that case, ride safe, and don't draw any attention to yourself. But don't let anyone know I said that, either. I have a wild, unruly image to maintain," she said, running her hand through his hair. It must have been close to two in the morning, and the whole campus was quiet, all the windows dark. The only light was from the street lamps placed along the walkways. Maeve had taken off her helmet, too, leaving her hair a rumpled whitish halo around her head. The air had grown much cooler since he'd arrived there to pick her up hours before, and their breath came out in clouds. Sean found that he felt much warmer standing next to Maeve. 

"Your secret's safe with me," he said. 

She stepped in closer to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for asking me." 

"I had a wonderful time being with you," said Sean, leaning in closer to her. There was something so different about Maeve. She wasn't at all like the girls he'd dated before and quickly lost to Tom. He felt so in awe of her, and yet so at ease. Her eyes glittered dark, dark blue under the lamplight, and she looked up at him with a dreamy smile. Normally he would have been so self-conscious around her, but this time, he could only feel himself sinking until their lips met. 


	2. 2

Chapter 2 

Sean biked home and arrived, exhausted, at some time between midnight and dawn. He was glad that he didn't have work the next day; the happiness of the last evening wouldn't keep him awake through the day. He opened one of the main doors to the Keep slowly, carefully, so the creaking wouldn't wake up Tom and Mrs. Bridges. As the door opened, and the scant light from outside spilled into the Keep, he saw his cousin there, sitting on the couch wide awake in his pajamas and robe, staring directly at the doorway where Sean stood. 

"Good lord," Sean muttered with a start. "Tom, what are you doing down here?" 

"Waiting for you," replied Tom. 

"Waiting for me?!" whispered Sean. "It must be four in the morning!" 

"I want to know what you did with Maeve that kept you out so late." 

"Now, Tom, that's something you may not want to know..." 

"But I do want to know, Sean. How was your night with Maeve?" 

"We had a very good time," Sean whispered firmly, proceeding into the hall to hang up his jacket. "Though most of the time was spent riding between here and her university. She lives in Omagh, you know." 

"Yes, I know that. She mentioned it when you had her down here last." 

"Please tell me at least Mrs. Bridges is asleep?" 

"She is. Now, tell me, what did you do with her?" 

Sean's first impulse was to tell Tom he'd given Mrs. Bridges a peck on the cheek just before he left, but he knew that would only keep the conversation going longer, and he wanted nothing more than to be in bed. Preferably in bed with Maeve, but then, he couldn't have everything. "I took her to see a bunch of silly little films, then we had a few bites at a tavern. Then I took her home. Why do you want to know all this?" 

"Because you're my cousin, Sean, and it's not often you're out this late with a girl." 

*Touché.* 

"So I want to know how you're doing," Tom finished. 

"I'm doing quite well with her, thank you. But couldn't this have waited until after dawn? I know you don't do anything, so you can sleep whenever you want, but maybe four in the morning's not such a good time for the rest of us?" 

Tom brushed off Sean's response to his thinly veiled insult. "But I was so curious I couldn't wait that long." 

*That's a lie, and even he knows he's not fooling me,* thought Sean. "Fine. Now can I please go to bed?" 

"Don't let me stand in your way." 

As Sean walked up the stairs to his room, he could only think, *I am not giving him tips on how to win Maeve out from under me. He does that well enough on his own.* 

It was the following Thursday that Sean came home from work and Mrs. Bridges told him there had been a phone call for him that day. 

"A young lady named Maeve. She said you knew her number," she told him. 

Sean had seen that Tom's car wasn't there when he got home, so he obviously wasn't in the Keep. Where he was or what he was doing, Sean didn't know or very much care; as long as he wasn't on his way to Maeve's dormitory or arranging the sale of a ton of opium on the streets of Dublin, Tom's being away was just fine by Sean. 

He dropped his jacket on his favorite chair in the main hall and ran to the phone in the kitchen. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Bridges. Can you excuse me for a few minutes?" 

"Oh. Yes, of course. Please tell me when you're all finished down here. I'll be upstairs dusting the guest rooms in the meantime." 

Sean dialed Maeve's number while Mrs. Bridges got out of earshot. He was relieved to hear Maeve's voice say, "Hello?" 

"Hello, Maeve, Mrs. Bridges said you called for me today?" 

There was a pause. "Is this Sean?" she asked. 

*Stupid boy. You could've thought to tell her that first.* "Yes, it's Sean. I'm sorry. But, did you call for me today?" 

"Yes, and I'm sorry, too. I suppose it slipped my mind that you'd be at work," she said. 

"That's all right. Now I'm here, so what was it you wanted to talk about?" He slid up onto the counter, just next to the refrigerator, to wait for what she'd say. 

"Tom asked to take me out yesterday," said Maeve. 

Sean slumped into a heap so that he nearly fell right back off the counter. "Oh, he did?" 

"Yes. He says he has something special in mind this Saturday. And I had a wonderful time with you last weekend, and I haven't yet given him an answer, but I do find him charming, so I wanted to know if...you wouldn't mind if I said yes?" She had that tentative, hopeful tone in her voice. It was clear that she needed to hear an answer right away. 

Sean sat there doubled over on the kitchen counter and paused with the telephone receiver held up to his ear for a moment. His first thought was that Tom had wasted no time in going after Maeve once Sean had established that he liked her. His second thought was that this time, he had the chance to tell her No, I don't want you to go out with him. But then, what would happen if he said that? Would she actually heed his word, or was that merely a formality, a show of courtesy to avoid hurting his feelings? Even if she did refuse Tom that first time, would she keep on saying no to him? He knew that Tom would most definitely ask her out again, even if she turned him down this time. If she continued to turn him down while going out with Sean, what would that do to their relationship? Would she start to think of him as the man who wouldn't let her give his charming cousin a chance? Would she wonder what he was so afraid of? What kind of a shadow would that cast over their next date, if they had another one? 

"If you like Tom, and he's asked you on a date, then you should say yes," Sean finally said, straightening back up. 

"You don't mind, then?" 

"No, I don't mind. Just promise me one thing." 

"What is it?" 

"Don't forget about me," he said. 

"Sean, it'll take a lot more than one night with your cousin to make me forget you," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. 

He smiled along with her, and relaxed his posture. "I certainly hope so. Listen, you don't have to ask me for permission if you want to let my cousin take you somewhere. It's not my place to stand in your way." 

"I know, but since I just went out with you days ago, and this is your cousin who lives with you asking me out now, I thought it only right..." there was a sigh, a sudden closed-mouth exhalation on the other end. "I just want you to know I still like you. Does that make sense?" 

"Of course it does, Maeve. Don't worry about it. We've only had one date together, so if you want to give Tom a chance, then you should." 

"Ah, thank you, Sean," Maeve said brightly. "I hope to see you again." 

When he hung up, Sean could still hear her words, "It'll take a lot more than one night with your cousin to make me forget you," ringing in his head. She didn't know Tom very well yet, he thought. Then again, he had to admit, she was still thinking about him. Even if Tom won her over, Sean knew, at least he had a fighting chance. He found Mrs. Bridges upstairs and told her he was finished in the kitchen. 

That evening after Tom came home, Sean found him alone in his room, again where Mrs. Bridges wouldn't hear them. 

"Where did you get Maeve's phone number from?" Sean asked. 

"Dear cousin, you gave it to me. Why, did she return my call today?" 

"When did I give you her number, Tom?" 

"You wrote it down on a piece of paper and forgot to take it out of your pocket," he answered. 

"What, are you going through my pockets now?" 

"Not at all. It was bound to end up in the laundry, you know." 

"And since when do you ever do laundry?" 

"It fell out of your pocket while Mrs. Bridges was carrying the laundry downstairs, Sean. I found it on the floor. It's back in your room now, on your chest of drawers so you won't forget her number," he explained. "Now, did Maeve return my call today?" 

"Not exactly," said Sean. For a fleeting moment, he considered letting it drop there, to wait and see what Tom would do with no knowledge of how Maeve felt about him. But he wouldn't do that to Maeve. "You should give her another call, though." 

Tom looked quizzically at Sean, but then shook it off. "Very well, then. I will." 

That Saturday afternoon, at a little after four o'clock, Sean convinced Mrs. Bridges that the Keep was quite clean enough for the day, and that she should sit down with him for a friendly game of poker, no betting involved. He was just dealing out the first hand, on the coffee table in the main hall, when Tom breezed through the room in his best suit. 

"Why, Tom, where are you going, looking so dapper?" asked Mrs. Bridges. Even Tom, who rarely left the Keep without looking, as Mrs. Bridges had just said, "dapper," only looked that good on special occasions. 

"Going to pick up Maeve," he answered. 

"Have a good time, then," she said. After Tom walked out the door and they could hear his car starting up, she asked Sean, "Is that the same Maeve that you took to the movies last weekend?" 

"Same one." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," she sighed, patting his shoulder. "I thought this one would last longer for you." 

"No, don't worry," Sean assured her, picking up his hand of cards. "Remember that phone call for me on Thursday? I'm still in the running. And with Tom taking her somewhere looking like that, I've got at least another, I don't know, six hours before she casts me out of her mind." 

Mrs. Bridges chuckled, and picked up her cards. Sean put on his best poker face while he racked his brain. 

*By all the saints in heaven. What is he doing with her tonight?* 

Tom arrived at Maeve's dorm at six-fifteen that evening. He'd told her during their last phone conversation that he was taking her somewhere special, and she was dressed accordingly. She came downstairs in a long sleek blue dress overlaid in chiffon, with her hair pinned up in a perfect roll behind her head. He'd had some suave greeting in mind for when he first saw her, but when the moment came, the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he simply held out his arm, which she took, and he walked her out to the car. 

"Close your eyes," he said once they were inside the car, the first thing he'd said to her since he'd arrived. 

"Why? Where are we going?" she inquired. 

"It's a surprise. I don't want you to know where we're headed until we're there." 

"If you say so," said Maeve, in a slightly skeptical tone, and closed her eyes. 

Tom started the car and continued driving north. 

"Can I open my eyes yet?" she asked, for the third time, after they got into the city. 

"No," he answered. "It won't be until we're out of the car." He didn't tell her they were almost at their destination. 

Finally, he parked the car on a street facing the building, and took her hand to help her out. Maeve shivered as she stepped out of the car in the chilly October evening air; she tightened her lacy shawl around her shoulders, but it didn't help much. Tom saw her shivering and shrugged off his jacket to lay it over her shawl. 

"Thank you," Maeve said through chattering teeth, her eyes still closed. 

"It is chilly, isn't it?" Tom remarked. He draped one arm over the small of her back to guide her towards the building, while fumbling around in his pocket with the other hand to get their tickets out. He walked them in quickly, because without his jacket, he was feeling cold, too. 

Maeve relaxed visibly once they reached the warmth of the lobby, then tensed up again from the din of hundreds of conversations and the smell of dozens of kinds of perfume. "Tom, where are we?!" she demanded. 

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," he said. 

Maeve's eyes popped open, and her whole face opened up into an awestruck smile as she recognized the lobby of the concert hall in Belfast. 

"Tom, I don't believe it!" 

She didn't see it, but Tom let out a sigh, relieved to see how pleased she was at his choice of venue. 

"We're here to see The Magic Flute," he told her. 

"That's wonderful," she said, and laced her arm through his again to head into the auditorium. 

They were still holding hands at the end of the show. 

"Tom, this is the nicest surprise I've ever gotten," said Maeve as they left the building. 

"I thought you might like to see your home city," he said, while pulling her closer to keep them both warmer. "What would you like to do now?" 

"First, I want to get back in the car," she said. "It's freezing out here." 

They walked faster towards the street where Tom's car was parked. "Very well," he laughed. "What after that, then?" 

"Let's go back to Omagh. Don't misunderstand, I love that you brought me back up here for the evening, but I come back for holidays, and I left the city to go to university for a reason. There's a place near the university where we could go." 

"Then by all means, let's go there." 

He dropped her off back at her room just after midnight. They stood in the hall at her door, where Maeve gave Tom's jacket back to him. 

"I had a wonderful time tonight," said Maeve. "How did you know I loved that concert hall so much?" 

"It was a very lucky guess," said Tom, stroking her shoulders and upper arms through her shawl. "I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it." 

"Good night, Tom," she said, and stepped in closer to kiss him. 

With his arms around her and feeling her hand pass through his hair, Tom briefly thought about taking her back to Cassidy Keep to make love to her. But only briefly, because "Good night" meant she'd have none of that, and besides, it was only their first date. There would be other times, and he could wait for her. 

The next morning, Tom swaggered into the kitchen looking like they were all playing poker, and he knew exactly what cards they were holding. Sean was already there eating breakfast; Mrs. Bridges was at the stove. She said good morning to Tom and flipped a waffle and some creamed chipped beef onto a plate for him. 

"Thank you," he said to her, then turned to Sean. "Sleep well?" he asked as he sat down. 

"Well enough," Sean replied. "Where did you take Maeve last night?" 

"Yes, Tom, what was the occasion?" Mrs. Bridges asked as she sat down with them. 

"Nothing really, just a little opera in Belfast," he smirked. 

*Damn it,* thought Sean. *He trumped my date but good.* 

"Well, that sounds splendid, Tom," said Mrs. Bridges. "I'll bet you two had a lovely time together." She shot a look towards Sean, and he tried to think of what it was. Sympathy? Apology? Dread? 

"Oh, we did." He didn't mention the at least three times Maeve had brought up Sean at supper the night before. 

It was early October when they met Maeve. They kept on going like that, taking turns going out with her, through October and November and into December. Neither of them asked her to choose between the two of them, though she sometimes expressed guilt over "riding two horses"(1) and "stringing [them] along" by continuing to date them both so steadily and simultaneously. Still, neither cousin objected to this arrangement, just as long as she was still interested in him. She ended up at Cassidy Keep at the beginning of her Christmas holiday. Originally, she was supposed to only stay the weekend, but on the morning of the day that she'd planned to go back home, something happened. 

"Snow!" Sean yelled when he opened the main doors that morning and was greeted by vast swirls, carpets and threads of white in the courtyard. It was an especially mild winter they'd been having, and that much snow in one night was not something any of them were expecting, though Mrs. Bridges had predicted the night before that it was about to get much colder. "Tom, look at this!" he shouted in the direction of the stairs. 

"What is it?" Tom grumbled while stalking out of his room. From his vantage point at the top of the staircase, he could see Sean, but didn't get much of a view of the outside. "Sean, what's so glorious outside? Isn't it drafty enough in here already?" 

"No! Come see what it's doing out here!" 

Tom shrugged, stumbled down the stairs, and pulled on his coat and gloves to join Sean in front of the doorway. "Yes, this is unexpected," he conceded, standing beside his cousin to enjoy the view. 

They closed the doors so they wouldn't be responsible for their housekeeper's death by pneumonia, and mere seconds later SMACK, went an orange-sized snowball between Sean's eyes, another second and CRUNCH, a new one on Tom's cheek. 

They hurried to wipe the snow out of their eyes, noses and mouths while looking around the courtyard for their assailant. Sure enough, Maeve leaned giggling out from behind the big oak tree. 

"I'll go this way, you go that way!" Sean instructed while running away from Tom, and this time, the older cousin didn't mind doing as he was told. Maeve scurried away from the tree, laughing uncontrollably, and didn't stop when two snowballs hit the back of her head. More cold white projectiles flew through the air in different directions. 

Finally, the men got on either side of Maeve so the three of them stood in a roughly straight line. Tom threw one intended for Maeve, but she ducked, and it hit Sean squarely on the chin. Tom fell over laughing, and Sean and Maeve both pelted him. 

"What are you three doing out here?!" Mrs. Bridges demanded, appearing at the doorway wrapped in her shawl. She let out an "Eek!" as she ducked behind the door to avoid the three snowballs coming her way. 

Having chased Mrs. Bridges back inside, the three young people went on trying to see who could frost someone else the most. After Tom ran far enough away from the other two to have himself sufficiently hidden, Sean grabbed Maeve and ran around the Keep with her screaming in his arms. He went inside through a back entrance and carried her up the stairs to his room, where he tossed her, laughing, on his bed. 

"What are we, twelve years old now?" Maeve remarked. 

"We're allowed a snowball fight now and then, no harm in that," said Sean while taking off his hat and gloves. "But you'd know that, since you started it!" He took a flying leap to land beside her on the bed. 

"You two make it so easy! All lined up in plain sight and standing there like a couple of deer in headlights, you practically hit yourselves!" 

Sean turned on his side to face her and wrapped his free arm around her. "And you lying in wait had nothing to do with it, I suppose?" 

Maeve turned to face him and shifted in closer. "Absolutely nothing," she said before kissing him. 

Tom came out from his hiding place with an arsenal of snowballs balanced in the crook of one arm, ready to stage an ambush, only to find that his targets were nowhere to be found. "Where did those two---Sean, I'll get you for this." 

Sean helped Maeve out of her gloves and opened up her coat while their tongues twisted around each other. His hand slid under the coat and up her back; she did the same with him. Maeve rolled them around until she was on top, Sean rolled some more in the same direction, until they slipped off the side of the bed. He jerked around on the way down so they'd land on his back, which he soon came to regret. 

"Ow!" he gasped when his head hit the floor. There was a throw rug beside the bed that cushioned their fall, but there was cold stone under the rug, and the small layer of dense fiber could only help so much. 

"Sean, are you okay?" asked Maeve, getting up and pulling him by the hand to encourage him to do the same. 

"I'll live," he grunted, with his eyes squeezed shut and other hand behind his head. 

"Come on, let's put some ice on that." 

She led him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Mrs. Bridges was washing dishes. Upon seeing the two of them coming, she turned off the water and ran out, hands still dripping wet, in the other direction. 

"Mrs. Bridges, we're sorry, we just got carried away!" Maeve called after her. 

"Don't worry, she'll be back in the spirit by this evening," said Sean, still holding the spot where his head had broken their fall. 

Maeve sat him down at the kitchen table and gathered some ice in a dishtowel, which she pushed into his hand. Just then, they heard the main doors close again as a snow-frosted Tom lumbered in. He leaned against the doorway to the kitchen and wanted to know, "What happened here?" 

"We fell off the bed," Maeve admitted sheepishly. "Sean broke our fall." 

"Don't look at me that way, Tom. You would've done the same." 

They all knew Sean was referring to taking Maeve inside to make out with her, not to falling off the bed, and Tom knew it was true, except for one thing. If Tom had been the one to take Maeve inside, they would have still been in his room. Still, he decided to change the subject. 

"Was today the day you were planning to go back home, Maeve?" 

"Yes; will you be able to drive me home this afternoon?" 

"I probably can," he shrugged. "But it might not be safe in this weather." 

"So, can you drive me home or not?" Maeve asked impatiently. "If not, I should call my parents and tell them what's going on so they don't worry." 

"I think we should at least wait until it stops coming down." 

"Or I could take you home," Sean offered. 

"I appreciate that, but I've driven your bike. It'll go straight into a ditch the moment we hit the slightest bit of ice, especially when the cops start chasing us in Ulster," Maeve smiled. "It'll be best if Tom takes me home." 

"Then I'll take you home. Let me know when's a good time to go." 

The drive back to Belfast was fortunately uneventful, and they arrived at the Rourkes' house that evening. Maeve was the youngest of six, and all her older siblings had already come home to visit, so Tom had to park in front of a house two doors down, for all the cars parked in front of Maeve's parents'. 

"Would you like to come inside, get acquainted with everyone?" Maeve offered as Tom pulled up the parking brake. 

She was inviting him to meet her family. This was a good sign. Still, Tom wasn't yet ready to show the face he'd been showing Maeve to a whole house full of strangers. "I'd better not. I wouldn't want to intrude on your family's gathering." 

"It wouldn't be an intrusion; you just brought me home!" 

"But if I go in, I'll end up staying too long, and I want to get back home before it gets too late. Not that I wouldn't like to meet your family, it's just..." 

"No, that makes sense," said Maeve, while opening up her door. "Would you open the trunk for me?" 

"Of course," said Tom. He opened up his door and got out between passing cars, and unlocked the trunk to take out Maeve's suitcase. He started towards her house with it in hand, but she stood in front of him and grasped its handle. 

"Tom, what are you doing?" she asked, smiling gently. 

"I'm carrying your bag inside. That's still allowed, isn't it?" 

"Of course it's still allowed, but I can carry it myself." 

"Yes, but I want to do it for you." 

"You don't need to prove to me that you're a gentleman, Tom; I have no doubt of it. But remember what you said about staying too long?" 

He let go of the suitcase handle. "I suppose you're right. Happy Christmas, then." 

"Happy Christmas to you, too," she said. Then, just as Tom was about to bring up her falling off the bed with Sean and ask if he would get a kiss, too, she leaned in, and he did. 

*I shouldn't have brought that up, anyway,* he thought as they kissed. *It's not a good sign if I have to bring up what she does with my cousin.* 

Their lips parted, and, barely an inch from his face, she whispered, "Thank you." 

(1) Yes, I am aware that this sounds filthy. Commence the smut jokes...now. 


	3. 3

Chapter 3 

The three of them went on like that for several more months. January, February, March, and well into April, Sean and Tom took turns dating Maeve. By then, however, it wasn't so much taking turns as trying to defeat each other. What had started out as a simple case of simultaneous attraction turned into a true competition. Both cousins stopped bringing Maeve into County Mayo unless the other one was away from home at the time. Since INTERPOL was working Sean harder now, giving him field work that took him out of the Keep for several days at a time, including weekends, Tom had more time to spend with Maeve, so if she came to County Mayo, it was inevitably with him. Sean, being keenly aware of his new shortage of opportunities to see her, did his best to make his little time with her count. When he got to see her, they went for plenty of time alone. Sometimes, they'd just sneak up onto the roof of Maeve's dormitory, huddling together for warmth and talking for hours while looking at the stars. At first, Sean tried to gain an edge over Tom through information. He tried to find out what Tom was planning on doing with Maeve, while keeping his own plans secret. He soon abandoned this tactic, knowing his dates weren't comparable with Tom's, and he had no intention to make them that way. Instead, he settled for merely keeping his own plans a secret from his cousin. 

Meanwhile, Tom enjoyed his increased time with Maeve. He was glad Sean was in the field as much as he was not just so Maeve would be available more often, but because even when Tom was at home, away from her, he could hardly think about anything except when he would next see her. It was an embarrassing state in which to be seen by his cousin. 

Both of them were guilty of trying to arrange several dates with Maeve well in advance, but she put a stop to that right away. 

The deadlock continued until mid-April, when Maeve gently announced a special occasion at her school. She was looking forward to the university ball, and asked Sean to escort her. 

Both cousins took notice of this. On the night of the ball, Sean stood in front of his full-length mirror, adjusting his tie while lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. 

*I'm to escort her to the university ball,* he thought. *That has to be a sign she cares most for me! But is it? Dare I ask her straight out? Suppose she says no?! Or resents my putting her on the spot?!! Or thinks me the proper twit for having to ask such a question when the answer, to her, is perfectly obvious?!!?* 

He shook his head and turned away from the mirror, knowing that the last question, at least, was unnecessary. Maeve had never given any indication of thinking him "the proper twit" on any issue. He was letting his excitement and suspense run away with him. 

*In heaven's name,* he thought. *Why must love be such an infernal muddle?! Who knows, if it were easy, it wouldn't be such fun!* 

He skipped out of the main hall with a jaunty wave to Tom, who was sitting in an armchair and reading a newspaper, on his way out. Sean hopped onto his bike and started speeding north. Tom saw the wave and heard that damned cheery whistling from his cousin, and the nagging fear he'd been pushing away that whole day was corroborated. He could tell that Sean was thinking the same thing he was: that Maeve had made her choice. Then, Tom realized that even if they were right, he wasn't ready to leave it at that. 

Sean crossed the border into Northern Ireland with nothing to hear but the roar of the motor and his own thoughts. He was so distracted, it didn't occur to him that he was headed straight into the same area where he'd been held up by Sgt. McLanahan and rescued by Maeve. No, all he could think about was his upcoming evening with her, and his possible future with her. 

*Silly as it sounds, she means so much to me,* he thought. *If she's happy, then I am as well...even if her happiness comes from choosing Tom.* 

He didn't see the car parked on the side of the road with its headlights off. He didn't hear its engine fire up or notice the added rumble on the road as the car started following him. It wasn't until the car's headlights came on that Sean was jerked out of his reverie and looked behind him, and saw that the squat blue sedan's front bumper was right next to his rear tire. 

Sean tried to accelerate while steering farther to the left, but Detective-Sergeant Damien McLanahan jerked his wheel to the left so hard that Sean and his bike went careening over the low stone wall at the side of the road. 

"I warned you, chummo!" the sergeant growled triumphantly. "Someday, somehow, we'd meet again...and I'd get even!" 

It was some time, maybe just a few minutes, maybe closer to a half hour, before Sean pulled himself out of the grass and sharp little rocks, knowing that he'd faint from blood loss before he danced with Maeve. He pulled his banged-up motorcycle back over the wall, expending a great deal of his remaining strength in the process, and started driving south again. 

Meanwhile, Tom had not moved from his position in Cassidy Keep, being lost in a reverie of his own. 

*I've never known anyone quite like Maeve,* he thought. She was nothing like the other girls he'd dated and discarded. She was smarter, more demanding, more assertive. It was exactly why he'd been struggling with Sean for so long, and exactly why he was so smitten with her. His usual arsenal of charm, good looks, and classy entertainment weren't enough for her. There was something about Sean that she appreciated, and Tom would just have to learn it. *I'm blessed, though, if I understand what she sees in Sean...and I don't care! I love her...and I'll do anything to win her!* 

Just then, the door opened, and Sean leaned against the doorframe, bleeding profusely from the head, with dark shiny stains all over that ridiculous maroon bellbottom suit. "Tom...!" he managed, before his legs gave out. 

"Good lord! Mrs. Bridges!" yelled Tom, scrambling up to grab his cousin before he collapsed all the way. 

Mrs. Bridges came running in and wrapped Sean's other arm around her shoulders, so she and Tom could drag him up the stairs. They bandaged up the worst of his open wounds and got him into bed. Tom called their family doctor and asked him to make a house call. While they waited for the doctor to arrive, Sean grabbed his cousin by the sleeve and asked him for a word. 

"Maeve's waiting," he croaked. "She'll be wondering where I am." 

"I'll phone," Tom offered. 

"No!" Sean burst out. "Evening's special...shouldn't be ruined for her. Go in my place...explain. Tell her not to worry." 

"Are you positive that's what you want?" 

"Please." 

On the way to Maeve's room, an idea struck him: this was not merely a favor for his cousin, this was an opportunity. Maeve didn't have to know the whole story. 

She answered the door, all dressed for the dance in a delightfully short hot-pink dress and necklace of large faux pearls. As soon as Tom knocked on the door, he heard her say, "Sean, what kept you, I thought..." but jumped slightly when she opened the door and saw Tom standing there. "Tom! I was expecting..." 

"I know," he said. "Sean isn't coming." 

"Oh," she began, looking towards the floor. She looked back up at Tom, and said, "I'm glad you've come." Maeve locked the door, Tom held out his arm, and she showed him the way to the dance floor. 

At the surface, they appeared to be at perfect ease together. Tom kept telling himself everything was okay; they danced so gracefully, and she smiled up at him so eagerly, it had to be going his way. Yet, he could feel a hesitance in her movements that he could only ignore for so long. 

She was letting him dance with her, and she was trying to smile. It wasn't like Sean to blow her off, and she knew it. Finally, he froze on the dance floor. "Does it matter so much, that it's me with you and not him?" he asked, frowning. 

"Of course not. I care for you fully as much as for him." 

"That's a lie." 

"You're here, Tom. He isn't." 

*All I need to do is keep silent, and I've won. She'll be mine,* he thought. *But she's in such pain. Because she cares so deeply for him. And thinks he's betrayed her. It's more than I can bear.* 

While trying to think of how to set Maeve's mind at ease, it struck him, what Sean had over him. It was his honesty, his earnestness, that had gotten him an invitation to the ball. If Tom used those now, he'd lose her right away, but if he didn't, he wouldn't keep her for much longer. 

"Sean was on his way here, Maeve," he began. "He was run off the road. He'll be all right, I think...but he asked me to come and explain why he couldn't be here. I thought, by keeping silent, I could turn your heart from him to me. But I reckoned without my own heart. Even though you'll probably hate me for it...I find I cannot lie to you. Even about this." 

She nodded, and let go of him. "I should go back to my room, in that case," she said quietly. 

"Do you hate me, Maeve," Tom called after her as she headed for the door. "For what I've done?" 

He didn't expect her to do anything more than glare back at him and keep going, but she turned around, and smiled. "For being true?" she said. "For caring for me more than yourself, no matter the cost? Oh, Tom, how could I ever hate the man who's proved himself my dearest friend?!" 


	4. 4

Chapter 4 

Sean Cassidy woke up late the next morning, feeling another hand clasping his own. His first thought was that it was awfully nice of Mrs. Bridges to sit beside him and wait for him to wake up, but the hand was too young and smooth to be hers. He opened his eyes, and there was Maeve, seated next to his bed. 

"Morning, sleepy-head," she whispered. "Are you okay?" 

"I will be," said Sean, squeezing her hand in return. "Did Tom bring you back here?" 

"No, I came down on the train this morning. Tom doesn't know I'm here, he wasn't around when I came in." 

"After he left...I was afraid he might not explain to you why I didn't go." 

"It took him awhile, but eventually he broke down." 

Sean started to laugh, but soon cringed, as it hurt his bruised ribs. "Honesty has never been my cousin's strong suit." 

"I know, but I didn't come here to talk about Tom. I came here to see how you were doing, make sure you were okay," said Maeve. 

"I'll live," said Sean. "Our doctor came and patched me up last night. The good news is I'll get the next week off work." Maeve laughed softly as he said this. "Of course, I won't be able to do much else in the meantime." 

"Everything's a trade-off in life, isn't it? Listen, there's another reason I came down." 

"And what's that?" 

She moved in closer to him, so close that she had his hand just next to her head, and her gaze was inescapable. "I want to tell you that I've made my decision after all those months of stringing you and Tom along...and I choose you. You're the one I love." 

Sean looked at the ceiling and held his eyes wide open, hoping that would keep Maeve from seeing the tears welling up. He'd been so afraid of asking her, and she'd just answered. He was lying there patched with bandages and splints, and it was the best morning of his life. Finally, he looked back at her, and said, "I love you too." 

Maeve got up from the chair and, very carefully, began to climb onto the bed. She planted a knee on either side of his hips, just far enough apart that she wasn't resting any of her weight on him, and leaned down with her hands beside his shoulders. "Now make me a promise," she said, her face maybe a foot above his. 

"Name it," he said. 

"In the future, when you go to see me, don't go on your bike. Borrow Tom's car, take the train, anything, I don't care, just use something other than your bike, because I don't ever want to see you like this again." 

"Perhaps I'll use the scream, and fly." 

Maeve smiled. "Just try not to tire yourself out or scare too many old folks." 

After that day, Tom stopped calling Maeve, and she didn't ask why. Sean continued to visit her whenever he had time, and she sometimes surprised them by showing up at the Keep, having taken the train or caught a ride with a friend going into Galway. She coordinated her trips well, always managing to show up when Sean was home. She was still always happy to see Tom when she visited, though most of her time was spent with Sean, alone. In late May, Maeve sent them two tickets to her university graduation ceremony, and they drove up to Omagh together. 

Tom and Sean didn't see Maeve before the ceremony. They knew where to find her after it was over, because when she walked across the stage for her diploma, they heard a handful of people cheer for her. They looked in the direction of the cheering, and saw several people in another part of the audience, most of them at least old enough to be her parents, waving to her. After the ceremony was over, they made their way through the crowd to Maeve's family, and saw that she was doing the same. She reached her family before she noticed them, and happily jumped into her mother's outstretched arms. Sean and Tom continued to pull through the crowd as Maeve exchanged congratulations and thanks with the rest of her family, until she spotted them and broke away from her family to greet them. 

"Darling, are these the two charming and handsome cousins you told us about from the Republic?" asked Mrs. Rourke when Maeve had towed them up. 

"Yes, Mum," said Maeve. "Everyone, this is my love, Sean Cassidy, and my best friend, Tom Cassidy." 

To Sean's relief, Maeve did not have a horde to fill up the town come to watch her graduate. It was just her mother; Anne, a homemaker, her father; Theodore, a pediatrician, her grandmother, Margaret, and her brother, Michael. Sean was tickled to hear that Maeve had told her mother about "two charming and handsome cousins" to describe him and Tom, when usually it was Tom who was described as charming and handsome while Sean was described as "a very nice young man." It was only a few minutes before they were invited to join the family for dinner to celebrate Maeve's graduation. It went very easily until Dr. Rourke (who insisted that Sean and Tom address him by his first name) asked them what they were doing with their lives. 

"Sean's job is intriguing," Tom piped up. "Tell them about what you do, why don't you?" 

He could see Maeve do her best to suppress an uncomfortable look, and Sean briefly felt caught with his pants down, since he wasn't supposed to tell anyone he was working for INTERPOL. He wasn't sure his employers would even approve of him telling Maeve, but he certainly wasn't about to push it by blabbing to her family in front of a restaurant full of people. Fortunately, he remembered what he'd studied at Trinity, and what he'd thought he'd end up doing for much of the time he was there. "I'm a Guard," he said. "I work for the force in Castlebar, it's been almost two years now. But it's really not all that interesting, picking up rowdy drunks and directing traffic. Tom, why don't you tell them what you do?" 

This time, it was Tom who quickly glared at Sean, who hoped he'd have to say "Nothing, really" to Maeve's father, but while Sean was an occasional student in the art of lying, Tom was a guru. "I'm a teacher of sorts," he said brightly. "There's a bit of a youth center in Westport, and I teach Arts & Crafts classes to the children. It doesn't pay much, but I wouldn't do anything else." 

Michael narrowed his eyes skeptically at Tom, but Margaret was delighted. "That's wonderful, dear," she said. "What good young men they have in the Republic." 

When they were halfway through their meals, Sean screwed up his courage and got up from the table. He had been planning this act, and waiting for the right moment, for weeks. In truth, he'd been looking forward to it secretly for closer to six months, but he'd only been able to seriously plan it for a matter of weeks. He checked his pocket and verified that the box was there; it would be so embarrassing if it turned out that he didn't have it. Knowing it was still there, he leaned down to whisper into Maeve's ear, "Can I talk to you outside for a moment?" 

"I don't see why not," Maeve shrugged, clearly perplexed by this request, but getting up from her seat nonetheless. 

"What's going on?" asked Mrs. Rourke. 

"Don't worry, I'll be back with your daughter right away," said Sean, and led Maeve by the hand outside. 

"Mum asks a good question, Sean, what's going on?" asked Maeve once they were outside. 

Sean led her just out of the view of the restaurant's windows, and her question quickly gave way to shock and excitement as he dropped to one knee and took her hand in both of his. Several passing pedestrians stopped to watch what would happen. 

"There's nothing to see here!" Maeve yelled at them. "You people go about your business!" 

He waited for her to stop glaring at the passersby, and when she looked at him again, he drew in a breath to proceed. 

"Maeve Rourke," he began, with his voice trembling noticeably. "I love you more than anyone else in the world, and I can think of no greater joy than to share my life with you." Sean withdrew one hand to take the box out of his pocket. He opened the box to reveal a finely faceted blue topaz on a silver band. "Will you marry me?" 

There was a strangled squealing noise from Maeve's throat as she clapped her hands to her mouth. She danced on her tiptoes like a little girl, with her eyes quickly growing damp. Finally, she managed to stand still and take her hands off her mouth. "Yes!" she cried. "Yes, I'll marry you!" 

"Yes!" Sean burst out. He sprang to his feet and took Maeve into his arms on his way up, and spun her around until they were both dizzy. 

"What was that about, dear?" asked Anne when they returned to stand by the table. 

Sean bit into the inside of his lower lip to keep quiet; Maeve waited until the whole table was looking at her. Then, she held up her hand to show off her new engagement ring. "Sean and I are getting married!" 

The table broke out into a burst of happiness; Anne got up and kissed her daughter's cheeks, then did the same to Sean. There were several people from other tables applauding them, too, when Theodore got up to give Maeve a hug and shook hands with Sean until his arm was ready to pop off. 

Once they were all seated again, and the table had calmed down into a steady rhythm of congratulations and planning, Tom excused himself from the table. He hid himself in a stall in the men's room, where he took the top edge of the wall in his hand and proceeded to bang his head into the wall repeatedly. 

The drive back into County Mayo was unnaturally quiet. 


	5. 5

Chapter 5 

The morning after Sean and Tom got back from Omagh, they sat down for breakfast with Mrs. Bridges as usual, but this morning, the tenor of the meal was quite different. 

"Did you hear the news about what happened last night?" Tom asked Mrs. Bridges as she joined them at the table. 

"You mean about Sean getting engaged to Maeve?" she asked, glancing over at a smiling Sean. Tom nodded. "I think it's wonderful," she continued. "She's such a sweet girl." 

"Isn't she, though?" Tom agreed. "Tell me, Sean, how long will it be until the blessed day?" 

"We haven't set a date yet, if that's what you mean. It's only been one night, you know. It'll be at least another six months, though. She's got an internship at the library near her home, and she wants to get something out of that first. Not to mention, it'll take at least that long to reserve the church," he laughed. 

"That's good, it's best not to rush into things," Tom nodded. "After all, how long were you seeing her before you proposed?" 

"Tom, you know how long I've been seeing her, it's been more than seven months." 

"But she was seeing both of us for six of those." 

"True, but that doesn't change the fact that Maeve and I got to know each other during that time." 

"Fair enough. So then, once you knew that you were her choice, it didn't even take six weeks to decide you wanted to marry her." 

"Not even that. More like three weeks." 

"Well. You don't waste any time, do you?" 

By this time, Mrs. Bridges clearly looked worried. Sean dropped his fork and turned to face his cousin. "If I didn't know you better...I'd say you were trying to convince me that my proposing to Maeve last night was a mistake." 

"But nothing could be further from the case. I'm just curious about how you came to your decision." 

The younger cousin shrugged. "I love her. There's no other way to explain it." 

"That's the best way to know, dear," said Mrs. Bridges, touching Sean's hand. 

It was true that Tom had no intention of getting in the way of his cousin's marriage to Maeve. As much as it pained him to admit it, he knew what Maeve saw in Sean, and he'd never seen her so happy as when they'd announced their engagement. Still, his questioning Sean was not exactly innocent, either. 

A couple weeks later, on a Friday evening after Sean came home from a day of monitoring work at INTERPOL, Maeve showed up at their doorstep, without warning. Mrs. Bridges answered the door, and brought her to Sean. 

"Look who I found scratching at the door," Mrs. Bridges said to Sean while waving Maeve into the room. 

Sean stood up to welcome her, but before he could say anything, Maeve rushed into his arms and rained kisses all over his face. 

"I didn't know you were coming," he remarked when she slowed down. 

"Da got me a new bike as a graduation gift!" said Maeve. "I thought I'd give it a test drive, and rode it down here!" 

"You got a new bike, that's great! Wait a minute," Sean's expression suddenly changed to concern. "Wasn't that awfully dangerous, though? What about that dirty cop who sent us off a cliff and later ran me off the road?" 

"Ah, but you forget, I'm not living in Omagh anymore!" she grinned, shaking a finger in his face. He remembered, and went "Ah" along with her. "So I'm coming from farther east, and can go around that pig's territory! No worries. How was INTERPOL today?" 

"Boring and tedious as hell," Sean murmured into Maeve's hair. "But at least they didn't send me away this week, and I got to be home when you showed up." 

"Yes, that was good of them. When's your next field assignment?" 

"They're sending me to Turkey next week. I'll be gone for a month," he moaned, his face still buried in Maeve's wind-fluffed hair. 

"Then it's a good thing I came down here tonight! Come on, let's go take the new bike for a ride around the hills," said Maeve, and started leading him out by the hand. 

"You mean you haven't done enough riding tonight?" Sean laughed. 

"No! It's beautiful, I want you to see it. Honestly, who knew a pediatrician could have such good taste in wheels?" 

"Can't I 'see' it tomorrow, and we stay in tonight?" 

"No, I want to take you for a ride now, before I lose my momentum. Then we can 'stay in' tomorrow," she explained, while towing him down a hallway, where they ran into Tom. Maeve let go of Sean's hand and gave Tom a tight hug. "Hello, Tom, how're you doing?" 

"I'm well, Maeve, and I didn't know you'd be here tonight," Tom answered. 

"Neither did he," said Maeve, pointing at her fiancé. "Look, we're going for a ride on my new bike, but I'll be here for the weekend. Will you have time to talk to me later on?" 

"Absolutely. Drive safely, now," Tom suggested as he let go of Maeve. 

"Not a chance," she said, clapping her helmet onto her head. 

Maeve spoke the truth; her new bike was amazing, or maybe it was just that she was so good at driving it. She took them through the backroads that ran between Newport and Castlebar, and especially enjoyed accelerating over the hills. Sean whooped it up along with her, and he had to admit that after 5 days of "boring and tedious as hell," this was great fun. He'd been accustomed to riding without a helmet before, but getting run off the road had taught him better, so the wind-in-his-hair factor was gone, but this left him to appreciate the wind-in-his-shirt. It was a beautiful late-June day, with the sun getting low in the sky, and they joyously sailed past cars at several points in the ride. 

The next day, Maeve found Tom working in the garden in front of the Keep. He'd been maintaining and improving the garden since he'd come back from Oxford, and it was the one place where anyone could find him on his hands and knees, handling dirt. 

"Those are beautiful, Tom," said Maeve, referring to the roses from which Tom was picking beetles. 

Tom, who hadn't known Maeve was watching him, looked up. "They won't be for much longer if I let these little beasts get any farther." 

"You said you'd have time to talk to me this weekend. So how about it?" 

"I'd love to, if you don't mind staying out here and watching me do this," said Tom. 

"No, I don't mind at all," said Maeve. She sat down on the grass behind Tom. "It's just that we haven't had much time together since...well..." she stalled, unable to name it. 

"Since the spring ball at your university?" Tom finished. She nodded. "True enough," he continued. "What is it you wanted to talk about?" 

"Oh, I don't know, anything. I want to know what you've been up to lately." 

"More of the same, really. Not enough to bother telling you about. How is your internship going?" 

"It's very...historical. There's a lot of fascinating information to be found in some of the musty old books they keep back there that no one ever reads. I've only been at it for a couple weeks, though, you know? Who knows what it'll be like once I've been there a few months? Either way, the library is wonderful, but I don't want to bore you." 

"Okay then. Have you gotten started on the wedding plans yet?" 

"You have to ask? My God, after Sean and I got engaged, Mum woke me up early the next morning to take me around to bridal shops." 

"Ah, so you're making preparations. In that case, have you set a date?" 

"Well, not exactly. Mum suggests about a year from now, next June, which I think is a good idea. Right now we're looking around for what to use when the date's been set and the day comes." 

"It sounds like your mother's enjoying this more than you," Tom laughed. 

"You don't know the half of it. Sean's left all the planning to me and her, since his schedule makes it hard for him; he just asks that we don't make him wear a canary yellow tux or do anything silly like that." 

"My cousin has taste? This is news." 

"Oh, hush up," Maeve laughed. "But, yes, Mum's having great fun, and I don't know why; I mean, both of my sisters are already married, and she planned both of their weddings; it ought to be old news to her by now." 

"Maybe she likes arranging big parties." 

"That could be it. In any case, I just try to take her onto the back porch when she gets immersed in planning, because she scares my Da." They both laughed. 

"I'm sure it'll be great," said Tom. 

"If it were up to me, I'd just kidnap Sean and sneak off to a judge and be done with it, but nooo, we had to go and announce our engagement like it was the second coming of Christ. What a couple of jerks we must have looked like." 

He wasn't about to divulge his feelings about Sean to her, but he certainly didn't think she'd acted like a jerk. "No you didn't. You had every reason to be happy. I only hope you stay that way." *Because if Sean disappoints her, I will bury him.* 

"Thank you." She was quiet for a moment before she got up. "I'd better go back inside, and leave you to your gardening." 

"It's been nice talking to you. Come again some time." 

Maeve started towards the doors, but then she turned towards him again. "Tom, are you angry at me?" 

He let go of his flowers to look at her. "No. What reason would I have to be angry at you?" 

"Because I broke up with you, and now I'm prattling on to you about how I'm going to marry your cousin." 

"You chose Sean over me because he made you happier, but we're still friends now, right? There's nothing wrong with that." 

"I'm so glad you think so." And she went back inside. 

Sean went to Turkey as he promised, and when his month was over, he didn't go straight home. Instead, he went to Belfast. Mrs. Rourke was duly surprised when she answered the door. 

"Why, Sean! To what do I owe the pleasure?" 

"I know I wasn't invited, but I do miss Maeve." 

"And I'm sure she misses you, too. Come in, come in. Maeve, darling, look who's come to see you!" 

He arrived back at the Keep on Sunday evening to find Tom in a familiar place: sitting in the main hall, reading the day's newspaper. Sean strode up to his cousin to ask his question. "Tom, I've got a favor to ask of you." 

Tom put his paper down and stood up to face Sean, mere inches away, deadly serious. "And what's that?" 

"Be the best man at my wedding." 

The picture of him standing as second banana while Sean kissed Maeve and a whole church sanctuary full of people barely contained their happiness flashed like a neon sign in front of Tom's eyes, and it made him snarl. He grabbed Sean by the shirt collar and jerked him forward so their foreheads pressed together. "Fine, you've won Maeve, now stop rubbing my face in it!" 

This would have been a more intimidating action if Sean hadn't been slightly taller than Tom and much stronger. He easily pried Tom's hands off his shirt and pushed him back. "I'm not rubbing your face in anything, I'm asking you to be my best man." 

"You'd love that, wouldn't you!" Tom railed, stalking around the couch. "Make me stand there and watch you put a ring on Maeve's finger like I'm behind it. Wouldn't you just find that so funny!" 

Sean stared and quirked an eyebrow; eventually he found a response for this. "What's the matter with you? I'm asking a simple favor that'll take one day out of your life. What's so terrible about that?" 

"What's so terrible about that is when you come back from your little INTERPOL trip, the first thing you say is to remind me that you're getting married to Maeve!" He stopped beside the arm of the couch, and stood there with clenched fists, fuming. 

There was another pause of Sean staring at Tom like a mad ape escaped from the zoo. "Now I see," he said. "You're still attracted to her." 

"You think I'm 'attracted' to her?! Are you daft?! I've never met anyone like her in all my life, and you couldn't wait to snatch her up, and now you think I just want a chance to screw her! I thought better of you, really I did." 

Sean spluttered, trying to decide which insanity to shoot down first. He started to count the women Tom had "snatched up" from him, then realized this would take too long. "Number one, you need to cool off. Two, I'm not going to pretend Maeve and I aren't getting married, just because you've finally fallen in love. Three, you are not the center of the bleatin' universe, so stop thinking my proposing to her was about you! It was about me and her. There's nothing you can do about it except live with it. Now, if you're going to act like a raving lunatic, I'd just as soon keep you out of the wedding, but Maeve thinks you should be the best man. If you don't want to do that, then I'll tell her we'll have to find someone else." 

"Fine. I'll do it." 

"Thank you," said Sean, who promptly headed towards his room. He stopped partway up the staircase. "Wait a minute," he called down. 

"What now?" 

"What's this business of 'winning' Maeve about? She's not some sort of prize, she's a woman who made her choice, and if you'd realized that a few months ago, maybe you'd be the one getting ready to marry her." 

Tom said nothing to that. He scrambled for his keys and hurried outside to his car. There, he began driving towards the busiest possible road, where the rumble of all the engines kept him from thinking about what Sean had said. 

After that night, Sean and Tom rarely spoke to each other except in front of Mrs. Bridges or Maeve. It was usually the former, since Sean spent most of his free weekends in Belfast with the Rourkes, and Maeve didn't come to Cassidy Keep except when she came down unexpectedly and arrived before Sean left to visit her. Tom was all in favor of this arrangement except that it meant he didn't get to see Maeve very often, and he missed her. 

The date was set at the first Saturday in June of 1977, blithely ignoring the old poem about "Saturday no day at all."(1) They weren't about to ask people to come up in the middle of the workweek just to follow an old superstition, after all. Sean applied for the time off, and Maeve informed her mentors at the library that the preceding Friday would be her last day with them. They were to be married at the church where the Rourkes attended Mass, and a honeymoon was planned in the Azores. For Maeve's side, they invited her family and many neighbors, church friends, and old schoolmates, and for Sean's side, Mrs. Bridges, the neighbors from the nearby village, his old schoolmates, and several fellow INTERPOL agents coming under the guise of Trinity graduates. 

On the night before the wedding, the dinner table was unusually quiet. Sean and Tom said nothing to each other, though they steadily glared at each other throughout the meal. They were normally civil for Mrs. Bridges' sake, but that night, they didn't want to say more than "pass the peas" even to her. The tension was driving her to distraction, she could hardly eat for all her hand-wringing and begging them to talk to each other. 

"I can talk to him after tomorrow's over," said Tom. 

"But why not now?" she pleaded. 

"There's really nothing to be said," Sean answered for him. 

"You shouldn't be acting like this," Mrs. Bridges insisted. "Tomorrow's a special day." 

"Doesn't matter," said Sean, who kept glowering at Tom. 

Mrs. Bridges made a strangled noise in her throat, and got up to take her dinner to her room. 

They were alone for a few minutes before Tom spoke up. "So, you're going to marry Maeve tomorrow." 

"That's what I intend to do." 

"Does she know about your big assignment a month from now? The one that'll take you out of contact with her for only-God-knows-how-long?" 

"Of course she knows about it. You think I'd marry her without telling her about that?" 

"And how does she feel about it?" 

"She's fine with it." 

"She says that now, but how will she feel later on? Are you sure you should be getting married when you'll be away from your wife for untold months out of the year?" 

"You're a little late to bring this up, besides which, I'm not rising to your bait." 

"It's not bait, Sean." This time, Tom was looking straight at him. "I'm just asking you to consider how Maeve will feel about being married to a man who spends all his time in the wrong part of the world." 

"Far better that, than a lazy rich layabout like yourself." 

"If only you had the slightest idea what I do with my time," muttered Tom. 

"Honestly, I don't see why you bother," said Sean. "I'm not backing out. Just accept that there's one woman in all of Europe who isn't impressed by you." 

*And you think you're so ungodly grand because there's one who's impressed with you,* Tom thought. "I know you'd never back out of this. Maeve's a smart woman. She knows what she's getting into," he said. 

"Then why are we having this conversation?" 

"Because she may be willing to get herself into it because she loves you that much, but that doesn't mean it won't wear her down." 

"So why did you decide to start bugging me about this on the night before my wedding?" 

"So that you could think about it, and be prepared to deal with it in the future." 

"Marital advice from the man who goes through women like cheap socks. Now I've heard it all," said Sean, getting up to clear his plate into the garbage. "Here's some better advice: I'm going to bed, as we've a long day ahead of us tomorrow. You should do the same." 

(1) Old Irish poem about what day of the week a couple should get married: "Monday for health/ Tuesday for wealth/ Wednesday the best day of all/ Thursday for crosses/ Friday for losses/ and Saturday no day at all." 


	6. 6

Standard disclaimers apply. The text for the wedding ceremony was shamelessly poached directly from gettingmarried.ie. God bless them all, says my little agnostic self. 

Chapter 6 

Sean was glad the next morning that he'd gone to bed early; he woke up with the sun, and despite his efforts to get some more sleep before his alarm clock went off, he stayed wide awake, heart thumping visibly through his ribs. Fifteen minutes before his alarm was set to ring, he gave up and got out of bed. His room was soon to be their room, full of Maeve's belongings brought down from previous weekend trips, and recently outfitted with a new king-size bed. While lumbering towards the bathroom to shave, he decided to pretend the "discussion" at the previous night's dinner table hadn't happened. After all, Tom was still living in the Keep, and Sean wasn't about to evict him, as his father had once done to his own brother. They still had to get along, and he knew Tom would mellow out once Maeve had moved in. It was clear that the last ten months had done nothing about his feelings for her. As long as he didn't try to get between Sean and Maeve---and if Sean was right in seeing how much his cousin respected her, he wouldn't try---then things would be okay. While he was shaving, there was a knock at the door. Sean put down his razor and opened the door. It was Tom. 

"I'm sorry about last night," he said somberly. "About all that questioning. It was rubbish, and I hope you'll forgive me." 

Sean glanced down, and nodded. "I wasn't all that worried about it." 

"I wasn't trying to get in the way," he continued. "I was frustrated, and needed to vent on someone. You wouldn't have wanted me to unload on Mrs. Bridges, would you?" 

"That's a fair point," Sean agreed. "I'm sorry about calling you a 'layabout.'" 

"But you weren't all that far off. Good luck today." 

"Thanks." 

Tom left the bathroom, and Sean let a long breath out through his nose before he went back to shaving. 

Later that morning, they were on the way to leaving for the church. Mrs. Bridges had found another reason to be anxious. 

"Sean, are you all packed up?" she asked urgently, looking eerily unfamiliar in her special lavender dress with no apron or dust rag in sight, and a nice hat over her brilliant white hair. 

"Yes, I put my luggage in the trunk last night, remember?" He suddenly felt much less nervous at seeing that his housekeeper had enough nerves for everyone. 

"Tom, have you got enough gas in the car?" 

"Yes, ma'am, I filled up the tank yesterday," Tom answered with a slight smirk at calling her "ma'am," which they both knew gave her fits. 

"Good," Sean pronounced. "Now, can we get on the road? I don't want to have to tell Maeve I was late for our wedding because we got caught in traffic." 

In the lower level of St. Bartholomew's Church in Belfast, Tom was not very surprised to find Sean stuck in front of the mirror in the men's room, growling determinedly at the neck of his reflection. When he saw Tom come in, he turned around to reveal that his fingers were tangled up with his bowtie. "This thing is trying to kill me!" 

Tom snickered under his breath as he walked up to the sink to help his cousin out of his predicament. He had two fresh white roses in his hand, and laid them over the corner of the sink. 

"What are those for?" Sean asked. 

"Relax your hands," Tom instructed. After Sean did so, Tom pulled his fingers out of the twisted loops of the bowtie, and began to correct it. "Didn't your Da teach you how to tie your own tie? Even my useless father taught me that much, and I was only thirteen when he died." 

"He taught me, but I haven't had much practice." 

"I suppose there's something to be said for that," Tom conceded. Sean was twenty-five; it had been nine years since his parents had lost control of their car during a thunderstorm. "That's better. These are from the garden at home," he said, picking up the roses. "I thought they'd look good in our front pockets. Do you want one?" 

"Please," Sean nodded. 

Tom broke off the blossoms with a little bit of stem to hold them together, and handed one to Sean to stick into his tux jacket's chest pocket. "Let's see if we can convince Anne that these were her idea." 

"Why couldn't I have your suaveness and dapper charm?" Sean remarked. 

"You hold the deed to a tenth-century castle, you have a useful education and an interesting job, and you're about to marry a wonderful woman. Leave me my rosebuds and black ties." 

To say that Sean was taken aback would have insufficient. After eight years of distancing and haughty superiority, following an indeterminate number of years of Sean looking at Tom like he made the moon wax and wane, his older cousin admitted to feeling envy towards him. 

"It was only a rhetorical question," said Sean, his voice betraying his shock. 

"I know. How do you feel?" 

"Nervous. But good." 

"So are you ready to go up there?" 

"As ready as I'm going to get." 

"Then we'd better take our places." 

If Anne Rourke was an overly enthusiastic wedding planner, then Maeve had done a fine job of restraining her. The decorations were limited to some cream-colored bunting draped around the sanctuary doors, front pews, and choir loft, and flowers arranged on either side of the altar. There was a string quartet seated in front of the organ to accompany the choir, and little embellishment other than that. Rather, the stained glass in the windows spoke for itself, and the sanctuary looked full and busy enough with all the guests. Sean and Tom saw now that Maeve had only mildly exaggerated when she said she had enough relatives to fill up Omagh. Her side of the sanctuary was full of people ranging from small children to elderly, and three or four sets of physical traits appeared frequently. Sean's side, while not quite as dense, was admirably full considering all those people from the area that Maeve had affectionately named "10 Miles West of Nowhere, Mayo" had had to travel over 2 hours to get there, but his guests clearly shared no common bloodlines. Once the bridegroom and best man had taken their place at the front, there was nothing they could do but stand politely and wait. Monsignor Roberts stood in front of the altar on the top step, and he gave Sean a gentle smile and nod before returning to watch the entrance. Their wait was over when Dr. Rourke came through the doorway with Maeve at his side. The quartet led the choir into a passage from Pachelbel's Canon in D, and the congregation rose to face the bride. 

"Maeve wins the prize for best disguise," was Tom's first thought when he saw Maeve in her poufy white gown and veil. "I'll bet she's wearing jeans under that." It wasn't that she looked uncomfortable or inappropriate; in fact, she was stunning as ever, but he knew Maeve, and he knew she was not the type to truss herself up in twenty pounds of satin and tulle. 

When Maeve made eye contact with Sean, her face broke into the warmest smile they'd ever seen from her, and with Maeve, that was saying something. Tom's cynical thoughts were soundly snuffed out. When she reached the bottom step with her father, it was time for Mass to begin. 

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," said Msgr. Roberts. 

"Amen," said the congregation. 

"The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you." 

"And also with you." 

"My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins." 

* * *

"Father, hear our prayers for Maeve and Sean, who today are united in marriage before your altar. Give them your blessing, and strengthen their love for each other.  
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever." 

"Amen." 

The guests rose again. The priest spoke to Maeve and Sean. "Dear children of God, you have come to this church so that the Lord may seal your love in the presence of the priest and this community. Christ blesses this love. He has already consecrated you in baptism; now, by a special sacrament, he strengthens you to fulfill the duties of your married life. 

"Sean and Maeve, you are about to celebrate this sacrament. Have you come here of your own free will and choice and without compulsion to marry each other?" 

"We have," they said together. 

"Will you love and honor each other in marriage all the days of your life?" 

"We will." 

"I invite you then to declare before God and His Church your consent to become husband and wife." 

Maeve and Sean joined hands, and Monsignor Roberts addressed Sean.  
"Sean, do you take Maeve as your wife,  
for better, for worse,   
for richer, for poorer,  
in sickness and in health,   
all the days of your life?" 

Sean looked at Maeve and said, "I do." 

"Maeve, do you take Sean as your husband,   
for better, for worse,   
for richer, for poorer,   
in sickness and in health,   
all the days of your life?"  


Maeve returned Sean's gaze and said, "I do." 

"What God joins together man must not separate. May the Lord confirm the consent that you have given and enrich you with his blessings." 

"Amen," rumbled the guests. 

"Almighty God, bless these rings, symbols of faithfulness and unbroken love. May Sean and Maeve always be true to each other, may they be one in heart and mind, may they be united in love forever, through Christ, our Lord." 

"Amen," said Sean and Maeve. 

"Maeve, wear this ring as a sign of our faithful love," said Sean as he slid a gold band onto her finger. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 

She took the other ring, and placed it on Sean's finger. "Sean, wear this ring as a sign of our faithful love. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 

Facing the Monsignor, they closed their eyes and prayed. "We thank you, Lord, and we praise you for bringing us to this happy day," they spoke. "You have given us to each other. Now, together, we give ourselves to you. We ask you, Lord: make us one in our love; keep us one in your peace. Protect our marriage. Bless our home. Make us gentle. Keep us faithful. And when life is over unite us again where parting is no more in the kingdom of your love. There we will praise you in the happiness and peace of our eternal home. Amen." 

* * *

After all said the Lord's Prayer, Monsignor Roberts faced Sean and Maeve and began the nuptial blessing. 

"We call God our Father. Let each of us now ask him, in silence, to bless these his children as they begin their married life." 

There was silence, then the priest went on. "Father, from you every family in heaven and earth takes its name. You made us. 

"You made all that exists. 

"You made man and woman like yourself in their power to know and love. 

"You call them to share life with each other, saying 'It is not good for man to be alone.' 

"We call to mind the fruitful companionship of Abraham, our father in faith and his wife Sarah. 

"We remember how your guiding hand brought Rebecca and Isaac together, and how through the lives of Jacob and Rachel you prepared the way for the kingdom. 

"Father, you take delight in the love of husband and wife, that love which hopes and shares, heals and forgives. 

"We ask you to bless Maeve and Sean as they set out on their new life. Fill their hearts with your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of understanding, joy, fortitude and peace. 

"Strengthen them to do your will, and in the trials of life to bear the cross with Christ. 

"May they praise you during the bright days, and call on you in times of trouble. Let their love be strong as death, a fire that floods cannot drown, a jewel beyond all price. 

"May their life together give witness to their faith in Christ. 

"May they see long and happy days, and be united forever in the kingdom of your glory. 

"We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

The congregation answered, "Amen." 

"Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever." 

"Amen." 

"The peace of the Lord be with you always." 

"And also with you," said the people. 

"Let us offer each other a sign of peace." 

It was time for the Passing of the Peace. The guests spent the next couple of minutes shaking hands and saying "Peace be with you" with those near them. Among the children, there was much vigorous hand-shaking one-upmanship and saying "peace!" Maeve had hugs and "Peace" first for her father, then for Sean, then for Tom. Sean and Tom shook hands and said "peace" to each other, and each of them did the same with Dr. Rourke. After they were finished, they all faced front again and said together, 

"Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.  
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.  
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace." 

"This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," said the priest. "Happy are those who are called to his supper." 

The priest and people said together, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed." 

* * *

After communion, the Monsignor, the wedding party, and the guests prayed silently. When they were finished, the priest spoke again. 

"Lord, we who have shared the food of your table pray for our friends Maeve and Sean, whom you have joined together in marriage. 

"Keep them close to you always. 

"May their love for each other proclaim to all the world their faith in you. We ask this through Christ our Lord." 

"Amen," the congregation responded. 

"The Lord be with you." 

"And also with you." 

Monsignor Roberts addressed Sean and Maeve. "The Lord Jesus was present at the wedding in Cana; today may He bless you and your families and friends." 

"Amen," said the congregation. 

"He loved His Church to the end; may He fill your hearts to overflowing with His love." 

"Amen." 

"May He give you the grace to bear witness to His resurrection, and look forward to His coming with hope and joy." 

"Amen." 

"May the peace of Christ ever dwell in your home; may the angels of God protect it, and may the holy family of Nazareth be its model and inspiration." 

"Amen." 

The priest now spoke to the congregation. "May almighty God bless you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." 

"Amen." 

"The Mass is ended, go in peace." 

"Thanks be to God." 

Sean and Maeve turned around and walked, hand in hand, back up the aisle towards the narthex, between two crowds of well-wishers. Dr. Rourke followed just after them, soon joined by Mrs. Rourke. Tom merged with the guests leaving the pews and parted from them in the narthex, where he ducked into a corner to wait for them to get outside. While the guests followed the new couple outside towards the reception, Mrs. Bridges found Tom trying to blend in with the coat rack. She was sobbing openly, as many other people in the church were doing, and when she saw the tears rolling down Tom's face, she threw her arms around him, because she thought he was crying for the same reason. 

_~finis~_

(Feedback is always appreciated.) 


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